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Article from the DIARIO DE NOTICIAS (see image)
Thursday, August 1, 2024
JUSTICE
‘Prince’ Loses Lawsuit to Annul Sale of Islet
(TRANSLATION)
The former owner of Fort São José, also known as Ilhéu da Pontinha, lost a lawsuit seeking to annul the property’s sale. The sale was carried out by insolvency administrator Maria da Conceição Lucas and the company Tremel Investments, registered in the USA but owned by Venezuelan investors.
In the year 2000, the islet was sold for €45,000 to Renato Barros, a Madeiran professor. However, starting in 2007, Barros began asserting the “independence” of the space from the Portuguese Republic, declaring it the “Principality of Pontinha.”
In 2017, the so-called “prince” was arrested by the GNR (National Republican Guard) in connection with a debt execution process. Despite his claims, neither the Funchal court nor the Lisbon Court of Appeal found merit in his attempt to invalidate the judicial sale. The court ruling, dated July 11, 2024, confirmed the initial decision, considering Barros’s action “inept.”
The property, once part of the Blandy group’s holdings, had been detached from Portuguese territory by King Carlos in 1903.
